lieutenant
A lieutenant is a commissioned officer in the armed forces or the police who can take command if her higher-ups aren’t around.
Lieutenant is pronounced “loo-TEN-unt.” If you’re confused about all those vowels, blame the French, because the word comes from the French words lieu, meaning “place,” and tenant meaning “holding.” A lieutenant is someone who holds the place of authority for the person who really has it. If you start a super secret club, you should choose someone to be the lieutenant who can run meetings when you’re not there.
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a commissioned military officer
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types:
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1st lieutenant, first lieutenant
a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a 2nd lieutenant and below a captain
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2nd lieutenant, second lieutenant
a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps holding the lowest rank
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sublieutenant
an officer ranking next below a lieutenant
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type of:
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commissioned military officer
a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps
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1st lieutenant, first lieutenant
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an officer holding a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant commander and above lieutenant junior grade
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type of:
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commissioned naval officer
a commissioned officer in the navy
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commissioned naval officer
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an officer in a police force
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synonyms:
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type of:
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law officer, lawman, peace officer
an officer of the law
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law officer, lawman, peace officer
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an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent
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synonyms:
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types:
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second-in-command
someone who relieves a commander
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vicar-general
(Roman Catholic Church) an administrative deputy who assists a bishop
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vice-regent
a regent’s deputy
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second-in-command